Saturday, March 28, 2009

India: The Road to Jaipur

Our "deluxe" bus from Agra to Jaipur had the usual dents indicating its prowess in Indian traffic negotiations and an almighty crack in the front windshield. It was supposed to be air-conditioned. At some point, presumably when the air-conditioning failed, small fans had been attached above the side windows, but those didn't appear to be working either. Fortunately the windows could be opened and, although it was hot and sunny, the breeze remained relatively cool. The seats were much more comfortable than on our previous bus journey, a good thing for a 5-hour journey.

On arrival in Jaipur at dusk, we phoned our hotel and were told to wait for a driver with a card bearing my name and a secret password. On no account were we to go with anyone else. (No-one else approached us so there was no problem.) The tuktuk driver who arrived with the card hurtled out of the bus station right into the path of an oncoming bus, which caused Michael to wince, but apart from this initiation we had an uneventful ride to our hotel.

The candy-pink Pearl Palace, an amazing bargain at about $15 a night, is tucked into a dusty alley in the warren of streets surrounding the old city. It's a little way from the centre but transport is never a problem during our stay as there are always a few tuktuks and taxis outside, anticipating the steady flow of guests.

Our room, though small is nicely decorated: there's a frieze of red, green and gold flowers on the ceiling, a scalloped arch above the bed, and a bay with side windows overlooking the quiet courtyard of the adjoining building. High on both the outside and inside walls are a pair of small, semi-circular arches set with coloured glass in jellybean colours. there a mirror in an ornate wooden frame and two paintings of women in saris, one smoking a hookah. To hang our clothes there's a set of hooks; two inner ones which are simple knobs, two outer ones which are elephant heads, their trunks forming the hooks.

About Me

I live in a 100-year-old house in Vancouver. On my Grand Folly blog I am recording the restoration of the house and the development of my garden.
Before moving here, we had a mixed farm on 9 acres outside the city. "A Year at Killara Farm", published by Harbour Publishing is my memoir of the garden I made there. It also contains recipes from my kitchen.
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I also have a travel blog, titled 2BusTickets. We usually manage to travel a couple of times a year. We take one carry-on bag each, and get around by local bus or train, or occasionally in a rented car. We prefer small independently-owned hotels or apartments that reflect the character of the country we're visiting.
We also travel within Canada, usually on short road trips from Vancouver and occasionally in other parts of this vast country.